US Speaker Mike Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Benton’s political future is on the line as the US House is scheduled to vote on Saturday to provide funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says far right Republicans oppose additional funding to Ukraine.
“That is going to infuriate a certain segment of the Republican coalition, the question is, is it going to be infuriating enough to oust him as Speaker,” Hogan said.
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she will move forward with her motion to vacate Johnson if he puts a Ukraine aid bill up for a vote in the House.
A divided House Republican caucus led to the removal of Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, last October. But Hogan says the desire for a new House Speaker is not as strong as it was last Fall.
“A very large number of Republicans recognize that if they do oust him, the result is going to be even greater chaos than we are seeing now,” Hogan siad.
Johnson has separated the foreign aid package into separate bills, so lawmakers will vote specifically on whether the U-S should send 60-billion dollars to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
Republican hardliners have demanded that any foreign aid bill must be tied to strong border security policies. Hogan says Johnson is doing what he thinks is right and is not worrying about the political ramifications.
“There have been reports that he has been made privvy to information that indicates the Ukrainians are in dire need of help from the United States,” Hogan said.
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